It’s Ash again! Patch 12.08 is bringing you an exciting new update to Skirmish called Skirmish: Ascension as well as another map rotation. Here’s the TLDR;

• Skirmish: Ascension - a new, experimental ranked experience with its own competitive leaderboard on our FTW site
• Ascent is in, Bind is out
• [PC only] Premier is back!
• More bug fixes

ALL PLATFORMS

MAP UPDATES

• Map Pool Updates
  • ASCENT is IN the Competitive and Deathmatch queues.
  • BIND is OUT of the Competitive and Deathmatch queues.

MODES UPDATES

• NEW LIMITED TIME MODE
  • Introducing Skirmish: Ascension, a new limited ranked experience for Skirmish. 
  • We designed this mode as a fast, skill-forward competitive experience where gunplay stays primary, but selected abilities create more tactical decisions and replayable duels. Pick from a curated roster of Agents, each equipped with a single ability, and fight through staged weapon rounds in 1v1 or 2v2. Compete on the FTW ranked ladder to earn rewards and prove you are better. Available for Act 3.
    • Mode Details
      • Agents & Abilities
        • Choose from 14 Agents, each with one ability from their kit
          • Jett (Tailwind)
          • Waylay (Refract)
          • Chamber (Rendezvous)
          • Cypher (Cyber Cage)
          • Omen (Shrouded Step)
          • Phoenix (Curve Ball)
          • Yoru (Clone)
          • Iso (Contingency)
          • Sage (Barrier Orb)
          • Raze (Blast Pack)
          • Vyse (Arc Rose)
          • KAY/O (Flash/Drive)
          • Breach (Flashpoint)
          • Veto (Crosscut)
    • Staged Weapons
      • No economy. Weapons escalate through stages as the match progresses
        • Rounds 1-4: Pistols (Bandit, Sheriff)
        • Rounds 5-8: Low-tier rifles (Guardian, Bulldog)
        • Round 9+: Vandal and Phantom
    • Queues
      • 1v1 and 2v2 with separate matchmaking
    • Round Structure
      • First to 10 rounds wins
    • FTW Ranked Ladder
      • Competitive leaderboard segmented by server, region, and platform
      • Separate leaderboards for 1v1 and 2v2, tracked independently
      • Rank Tiers
        • Iron: 700 
        • Bronze: 1100
        • Silver: 1500
        • Gold: 1800
        • Platinum: 2100
        • Diamond: 2400
        • Ascendant: 2700
        • Immortal: MAX
        • Radiant: Top 100
    • Rewards
      • Combat Ready player card: Complete 3 Skirmish: Ascension matches
      • Trade Me player card: Complete 15 Skirmish: Ascension matches
      • Titles awarded by highest rank achieved on either ladder 
        • Skirmish Competitor: Gold to Platinum
        • Skirmish Expert: Diamond to Immortal
        • Skirmish Legend: Radiant
• LEAVING LIMITED TIME MODES
• Knockout is heading out. Thanks for playing!

BUG FIXES

• Agent
  • These were fixed in Patch 12.07 but missed the notes.
    • Fixed a bug where using Miks’ Bassquake would cause the minimap cone to blink on use.
    • Fixed a bug where Veto’s Chokehold could detect enemies behind rotating doors on Lotus.
    • Fixed a bug where KAY/O’s ability VFX were not appearing if used right after KAY/O casts NULL/cmd.
    • Fixed a bug where Neon’s High Gear slide was not playing SFX for moving across different surface types.
    • Fixed a bug where Tejo’s agent select animation would sometimes cut off the smoke from the explosion.
    • Fixed a bug where Gekko’s Dizzy would only target an enemy if their head was visible.
    • Fixed a bug where during Dimensional Drift Yoru could not see invisible abilities like Vyse’s Shear or Cypher’s Trapwire even if he was close enough to them.
  • These are new fixes in Patch 12.08.
    • Fixed a bug where Viper's Toxic Screen SFX would activate repeatedly when Veto walked into it with Evolution active
    • Fixed a bug where players resurrected by Sage inside of Viper’s Decaying abilities would not gain Decay.
    • Fixed a bug where Tejo’s Armageddon would sometimes cast targeting spawn instead of the intended location.

PC ONLY

PREMIER UPDATES UPDATES

• Welcome to Stage V26A3! Matches start on May 6.
  • Contender and Invite Division schedule changes:
    • There are only 6 weeks of matches this stage – the matches are still each Saturday from May 9 - June 13.
    • Playoffs now take place across multiple days.
      • The first round of playoffs takes place on June 20.
      • Teams that advance from the first round return on June 21 for their next matchup.
      • Make sure to check the schedule in the client for round start times for your zone!

BUG FIXES

• General
  • Fixed an issue in settings where audio sliders weren’t moving correctly
  • Fixed an issue where trying to exit the client while a replay was paused wasn’t working

CONSOLE ONLY

KNOWN ISSUES

• Modes
  • Skirmish 2v2: Ascension and Skirmish 1v1: Ascension - Timer is stuck at 00.50 sec when during Overtime phase.
  • Skirmish 2v2: Ascension and Skirmish 1v1: Ascension - Agent abilities do not show up on the Combat Report in the following round after affecting enemies